Nigel Slater’s orecchiette with peas

The recipe

Put a deep pan of vegetable stock on to boil (you can use water at a push) and salt it lightly. You will need 300g of peas, shelled weight. Keeping a handful of raw peas to one side, cook the rest in the boiling water for 5-7 minutes, depending in their size.

While the peas cook, grill 10 thin rashers of pancetta until crisp, then drain them on kitchen paper. Cook 250g of dried orecchiette in deep, generously salted boiling water.

Put the peas and their cooking liquor into a blender and process until smooth. Drain the pasta and return to the pan, pour in the pea sauce and fold into the pasta. Check the seasoning. Divide between 2 deep plates.

Break the pancetta into large pieces and add them to the pasta, scatter over the reserved raw peas and serve. Enough for 2.

The trick

Start the pea sauce before putting the pasta on. The sauce will hold in good condition while the pasta cooks. If you are using fresh peas, then check them every minute or so throughout cooking – they can take anything from 4 minutes to much longer to become tender. Much depends on their age and size. If you are using frozen peas, they should be done in 4-5 minutes. Process the peas and their stock in two goes rather than risk overfilling the blender. (Sorry. Obvious, I know, but it is so easy to.)

The twist

You can make a similar sauce with broad beans. They are more starchy than peas, so be prepared to add a little more stock during blending. Although I love the simplicity of peas, pasta and pancetta, I have introduced shelled clams to this before now, thinning the sauce down with some of their (strained) cooking liquor.

Nigel Slater’s cherry pie and cake recipes

We went in search of cherries: punnet after punnet of dark, sweet fruits, cheap enough for us to boil up a batch of jam. The pickers had been at work before breakfast, teetering on tall ladders, their heads hidden in the canopy of leaves. We ignored the dead blackbird that hung ominously from the gate and went in. I was struck by how cool it was under those trees, a good few degrees cooler than in the open, and we sat in their shade feasting on fruit and spotting our shirts pink with juice before driving off with our cut-price haul.

That was a few years ago, but I have always associated cherries with the cool, serving them on dishes of ice in lieu of pudding; making a cordial of their juice with sparkling water and glasses of crushed ice, or just snatching the odd, chilled orb from its paper bag each time I opened the fridge door.

It is only recently I have started to think of the cherry as a cook’s fruit – a fruit for cakes and compotes, crumbles and pies. Jam aside, they seemed too precious to cook. Of course, warm cherry pie is heavenly if you take the trouble to stone the cherries. (A cherry pie with stones is more torture than treat.) And maybe do as I did this week, tossing in a handful of blueberries, the little fruits having the effect of making the cherries sing all the louder, their juice all the more rich.

Cherry pie

Use all cherries if you wish, but the tartness of the blueberries seems to amplify the flavour of the cherries. The cornflour becomes invisible, but effectively thickens the juices. Serves 6.

For the pastry:
plain flour 230g
butter 140g
icing sugar 50g
eggs 1 large yolk, plus another beaten to seal and glaze the pie
For the filling:
cherries 800g
blueberries 200g
cornflour 2 tbsp
lemon 1
caster sugar 100g (plus a little extra)

You will also need a wide-rimmed metal pie plate or tart tin measuring approximately 26cm in diameter (including rim).

Make the pastry: put the flour into the bowl of a food processor, add the butter cut into pieces and process until the ingredients resemble fine, fresh breadcrumbs. Mix in the icing sugar and the egg yolk. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, then bring the dough together with your hands to form a smooth ball. Wrap the dough in parchment or clingfilm and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Stone the cherries, put them in a mixing bowl then add the blueberries and the cornflour. Finely grate the lemon, add it to the cherries, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice. Sprinkle the juice over the fruit and add the sugar. Tumble the fruit, cornflour, juice, zest and sugar together and set aside.

Place an empty baking sheet in the oven, then preheat to 200C/gas mark 6. Cut the pastry in half. Roll out one half to fit the base of the pie plate, then lower on to the pie plate, leaving any overhanging pastry in place. Spoon the filling into the dish, leaving a bare rim of pastry around the edge. Brush the rim with a little beaten egg.

Roll out the remaining pastry and place it over the top of the tart, pressing firmly around the rim to seal. Trim the pastry. Brush the surface with beaten egg, pierce a small hole in the middle to let out any steam, then sprinkle the pie lightly with caster sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, on the heated baking sheet, until golden.

Cherry polenta cake

Serves 8-10.

butter 220g
caster sugar 220g
cherries 200g
ground almonds 180g
fine polenta 220g
baking powder 1 tsp
lemon 1
eggs 3, large 
For the syrup:
cherries 400g
honey 3 tbsp
elderflower cordial 160ml

Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Line the base of a 20cm cake tin with baking parchment.

Dice the butter and put it in the bowl of a food mixer with the caster sugar and beat until light and creamy. Halve and stone the 200g of cherries.

Mix together the ground almonds, fine polenta and the baking powder. Grate the zest from the lemon and stir into the polenta. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a small bowl. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly.

Add the beaten egg to the butter and sugar mixture, beating continuously, adding a little of the polenta mixture should it start to curdle. Fold in the remaining polenta mixture and the lemon juice.

Spoon half the batter into the lined cake tin, add the cherries, then the remaining batter and smooth the surface. Bake for 35 minutes, then lower the heat to 160C/gas mark 4 and bake for further 25 minutes until the cake is lightly firm to the touch.

While the cake bakes, make the syrup. Halve and stone the 400g of cherries. Warm the elderflower cordial and honey in a small pan, then add the cherries and let them simmer for 5-7 minutes until the fruit has given up some of its juice.

When the cake is ready, remove from the oven, then pierce all over with a skewer or knitting needle. Spoon some of the syrup from the cherries over the surface so it runs down through the holes into the crumb of the cake, then leave to cool.

Remove the cake from its tin; serve with the cherry compote and, if you like some cream or crème fraîche.

National picnic week 2017: Recipes from smoked salmon pate to tomato tarte tatin

Tomato and shallot savoury tarte tatin

​Tarte tatin is often associated with dessert, but savoury versions are delicious too and this one is no exception.

Serves 6-8

250g French shallots, unpeeled
1tbsp olive oil
25g butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthways
1tbsp thyme leaves, plus extra to garnish
1tsp sugar
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (about 24 x 24cm), thawed in fridge

Find yourself a 20cm (across the base) ovenproof frying pan. Check the handle is ovenproof too, basically not plastic, or cover it with a double layer of foil. Also check it fits in your oven with the door closed! Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180°C (200°C conventional/Gas 6).

Simmer the shallots in water for 5 minutes, then drain well. Cool slightly, then peel (the skins should slip off easily). Heat the oil in your frying pan. Add the shallots and cook for about 5 minutes or until starting to brown. Transfer to a plate and remove the oil from the pan.

Put the butter in the pan over a low heat. Once it has melted, add the garlic and stir around briefly. Add the tomatoes cut-side down and sprinkle with the thyme and sugar. Cook over a medium heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the shallots, ensuring that everything is in a single, compact layer.

If your pastry is a square sheet, snip off the corners to make them rounded. Carefully place the pastry over the shallots, tucking it inside the pan (not over the edges of the pan).

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then carefully turn out onto a large serving plate, remembering the handle will still be hot. Also be aware the tomatoes may have leaked a little juice. Serve warm or cold, scattered with the extra thyme. If transporting, cover with foil once cool.

Smoked salmon and roasted red capsicum pâté on toast

Serves 6

This creamy smoked salmon pâté served on crisp toast triangles is perfect finger food. You can make the pâté smooth or slightly chunky, depending on whether you blend the capsicum into the mix. If you stir the capsicum through after blending, the resulting pâté will be a little creamier.

1 small red capsicum (pepper), halved and seeded (or 50g bought chargrilled capsicum, drained)
200g smoked salmon
200g cream cheese
100g sour cream
4tbsp finely chopped dill
60-80ml lemon juice
8 thin slices of wholegrain or wholemeal (whole-wheat) bread

Preheat a grill (broiler) to high. Squash the capsicum halves to flatten them, then place under the hot grill, skin side up. Grill until the skin is completely blackened. Place in a plastic bag, seal the bag and leave for 15 minutes. Rub or peel off the skin (do not rinse), then finely dice the capsicum and set aside.

Put the smoked salmon, cream cheese, sour cream, dill and 60ml (2fl oz/¼ cup) of the lemon juice into the bowl of a food processor. Blend for about 20 seconds. Taste, then season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and add the extra tablespoon of lemon juice if needed. Now either add the diced capsicum and blend for 10 seconds, or transfer the pâté to a bowl and stir in the diced capsicum. Chill the mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes so it firms up slightly.

Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced, or 200°C (400°F) conventional, and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up. Remove the crusts from the bread, then roll the slices out thinly using a rolling pin or bottle. Cut each piece into four triangles. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the toasts are golden and crisp. Set aside to cool.

Store and transport the toasts in an airtight container, then serve alongside the pâté.

Goats cheese, black olive and herb muffins

These are best eaten on the day they’re made, however, if you do have any left over, warm them up and serve with some butter the next day.

Makes 12 muffins

2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
220ml milk
150ml olive oil, plus extra  for greasing
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
1tsp sea or table salt
120g pitted kalamata olives, finely chopped
3tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
150g goats cheese, crumbled
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180°C (200°Conventional/ Gas 6). Grease a 12-hole (capacity 80ml or 1/3 cup) muffin tin or line with cupcake cases. Combine the eggs, milk and olive oil in a bowl. Sift the flour and salt over the egg mixture then stir gently to combine. Fold in the olives, parsley, goats cheese and chilli and season with freshly ground black pepper.

Divide the mixture between the muffin holes and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the muffins have risen and are golden. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tin then transfer to wire racks to cool further.

Styling tip: Balls of coloured and textured twine look beautiful stacked in glass jars and are handy for wrapping sandwiches and muffins for lunches.